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Kathleen Robbins at time of interview

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
  • Branch of Service: Air Force
  • Unit of Service: 463rd Tactical Air Wing
  • Location of Service: Philippines; Vietnam; Mather Air Force Base, California
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/5192

View full service history

"I had some sleepless nights before the mission. But most of the time, I was doing what I was trained to do." (Video interview, 40:50)

A chance sighting of the Air Force Academy as a child set Captain Kathleen Anne Robbins' future in motion: hoping to become an astronaut, she joined the Academy as a cadet in 1964. While the next four years were challenging, she praises both the education and training that she received at the Academy, and her instructors for their dedication to the cadets. Graduating in 1968, she began the first of two years in Vietnam in September 1969. Flying out of Cam Ranh Bay, she served as a navigator aboard C-130 planes, which carried a wide variety of loads--from casualties, to American and Vietnamese troops, to food and supplies, to 15,000 pound bombs. In her interview, she discusses the intricacies of these different types of missions. As well, she relates how her experiences in Vietnam (and during a post-war trip to El Salvador) affected her thoughts on war, and speaks briefly about her experiences as a transgender veteran.

Interview / Recording

About this Item

Title

  • Kathleen Anne Robbins Collection

Names

  • American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER)
  • Robbins, Kathleen Anne
  • Miner, Meg
  • Ballard, Lara

Home State

  • Illinois

Headings

  • -  Robbins, Kathleen Anne
  • -  Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Air Force.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Female

Status

  • veteran

Service History

  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975

    • Branch of Service: Air Force
    • Unit of Service: 463rd Tactical Air Wing
    • Location of Service: Philippines; Vietnam; Mather Air Force Base, California
    • Highest Rank: Captain
    • Dates of Service: 1964-1975
    • Military Status: veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2003-03-22)
  • Video: MiniDV [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2003-03-22)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/5192

Cite as

  • Kathleen Anne Robbins Collection (AFC/2001/001/5192), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

American Veterans For Equal Rights, Kathleen Anne Robbins, Meg Miner, and Lara Ballard. Kathleen Anne Robbins Collection. 1964. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.05192/.

APA citation style:

American Veterans For Equal Rights, Robbins, K. A., Miner, M. & Ballard, L. (1964) Kathleen Anne Robbins Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.05192/.

MLA citation style:

American Veterans For Equal Rights, et al. Kathleen Anne Robbins Collection. 1964. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.05192/>.